Optical communication systems are a substantial and fast-growing constituent of communication networks. The expression "optical communication system," as used herein, relates to any system which uses optical signals to convey information across an optical waveguiding medium. Such optical systems include, but are not limited to, telecommunications systems, cable television systems, and local area networks (LANs). Optical systems are described in Gowar, Ed. Optical Communication Systems, (Prentice Hall, NY) c. 1993, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Currently, the majority of optical communication systems are configured to carry an optical channel of a single wavelength over one or more optical waveguides. To convey information from plural sources, time-division multiplexing is frequently employed (TDM). In time-division multiplexing, a particular time slot is assigned to each signal source, the complete signal being constricted from the portions of the signals collected from each time slot. While this is a useful technique for carrying plural information sources on a single channel, its capacity is limited by fiber dispersion and the need to generate high peak power pulses.
While the need for communication services increases, the current capacity of existing waveguiding media is limited. Although capacity may be expanded e.g., by laying more fiber optic cables, the cost of such expansion is prohibitive. Consequently, there exists a need for a cost-effective way to increase the capacity of existing optical waveguides.
Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) has been explored as an approach for increasing the capacity of existing fiber optic networks. In a WDM system, plural optical signal channels are carried over a single waveguide, each channel being assigned a particular wavelength. Through the use of optical amplifiers, such as doped fiber amplifiers, plural optical channels are directly amplified simultaneously, facilitating the use of WDM systems in long-distance optical networks.
To provide compatibility of WDM systems with existing networks, it is desirable to convert a signal from a received transmission wavelength from a customer to a specific channel wavelength within the WDM system. This is particularly true in WDM systems employing many channels, often referred to as "dense" WDM, where channel spacings are on the order of one nanometer or less. Such WDM systems require precise control of the optical signal wavelength for each channel in order to avoid "crosstalk," i.e., interference between adjacent channels. A WDM optical system for converting signals from received transmission wavelengths to specific channel wavelengths using optical remodulators is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,609. A WDM optical system which uses both remodulators and diverse optical sources (e.g., to accommodate signals which are generated at the proper channel wavelength or optical channels being routed from another optical path) is described in parent application Ser. No. 08/624,269, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference, above.
While both the described approaches advantageously offer compatibility with existing optical communication systems, particularly those systems using SONET terminal receivers which conform to the SONET "long-haul" standard, i.e., terminals configured to detect low optical signal levels, it would be desirable to provide an output channel signal conforming to SONET "short-reach" interface standards, i.e., terminals configured to detect higher-level optical signals.
Previously, attention has been focused on conversion of a single transmission channel from a wavelength outside the wavelength band amplified by optical amplifiers to a wavelength within the wavelength band amplified by optical amplifiers and then back to the original transmission wavelength for reception by an optical receiver. U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,073 describes wavelength conversion in a conventional single channel optical system to enable signal amplification by optical amplifiers. In the patent, an adapter is provided to receive a transmission optical signal having a wavelength which is outside the operating parameters of the optical amplifier. The signal is supplied to an optical-to-electronic converter module. The resultant electrical signal is output to an adjusting means comprising a laser piloting circuit for directly modulating a signal laser. The output of the signal laser is subsequently amplified by an optical amplifier. At the receive end, an adapter is provided to convert the optical signals from the amplifier into electrical signals which are fed to an adjustment module. The adjustment module comprises a laser piloting circuit which controls a laser transmitter. In this manner, the patent purports to avoid problems in which normal optical line receivers have problems with frequency response when they are coupled to optical amplifiers in optical fiber lines.
There is a need in the art for WDM channel selectors which can both select a particular channel wavelength from a multiplexed optical signal and place the information from that channel onto a newly-generated optical signal, the optical signal selected to have the desired characteristics which make it compatible with the selected terminal receiver equipment. Such channel selectors would permit the use of less expensive terminal equipment, facilitating the use of wavelength division multiplexing in a greater variety of telecommunications applications.